PARIS (AP) — Data showing that the economies of the countries that use the euro were out of recession gave a jolt to European stocks Wednesday, but the good news wasn’t enough to drive global shares.

Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, said the eurozone posted its first growth in the second quarter of the year since it entered recession in late 2011. The economies of the 17 EU countries grew by 0.3 percent in the April to June period from the previous quarter.

Much of that rebound was led by the region’s two largest economies: Germany, whose gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent, and France, which came in with the unexpectedly high jump of 0.5 percent.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.1 percent to 8,420, while the CAC-40 in France was up 0.2 percent at 4,103. Britain’s FTSE index broke the trend, however, and moved slightly down, by 0.2 percent, to 6,600.

“Much anticipation was built up yesterday in the hope that economic figures from Germany and France would prove to show signs of health in the eurozone’s strongest pillars. And that has proved to be the case,” said Chris Beauchamp, a market analyst with IG. “However, it is better to travel than to arrive, hence the somewhat muted reaction in continental markets.”

Also, many of Europe’s smaller economies remain bogged down by high levels of debt and unemployment that will take years to reduce.

Asian stock markets mostly drifted after U.S. retail sales data added to expectations the Federal Reserve will start scaling back its monetary stimulus this year.

The U.S. government said retail sales edged up in July by 0.2 percent, slightly less than expected. But core sales — a category that excludes autos, gas and building supplies — reached the highest level in seven months.

Retail sales are closely watched because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

The figures could have an impact on expectations of when the Fed will start to reduce its monetary stimulus. Most economists think that so-called tapering will start as soon as next month.